The present invention relates to an improved tamper resistant construction for preventing unauthorized turning of the actuating nut of a fire hydrant and it is an improvement over the construction disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,336.
By way of background, as is well known, unmodified fire hydrants can be opened by anyone having a wrench which can turn the hydrant nut, which can result in the unauthorized use of water. In prior tamper resistant constructions, such as shown in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,336, any pounding or wedging action applied to the tamper resistant construction, in an attempt to disable it, is transmitted directly to the hydrant nut which is usually fabricated from brass and can be less than one square inch in cross section and is thus susceptible to breakage. If it should break, the entire tamper resistant construction can be removed from the hydrant and access can be had to the remaining portion of the hydrant nut to thereby unauthorizedly turn it or the hydrant can be rendered inoperable.